We’ve all heard of the benefits of electric cars that run on batteries. They emit almost no emissions, they cost little to keep running, and as battery technology improves, the costs of EV cars will eventually go down. Another type of propulsion that has gained some popularity in recent years is hydrogen.
There are plenty of advantages of using hydrogen: it produces only clean water from the reaction, it offers a huge driving range, and the process of getting the hydrogen isn’t more involved than the process of extracting and refining oil.
Being the most abundant element in the universe, it’s a fuel source that we’d truly never be able to run out of, and while there’s been some resistance to adopting hydrogen systems, some companies around the world have begun to try.
Enter the XP-1, made by a company called Hyperion, it’s currently the world’s fastest supercar that runs exclusively off of hydrogen. Keep reading to find out more about this unusual vehicle.
What Are Hydrogen-Powered Cars
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are similar in many ways to electric vehicles, specifically because both make use of batteries to push the vehicle forward. The difference is that instead of the batteries pulling their power off of the grid, the fuel cells are powered by hydrogen, where they combine oxygen and hydrogen in a process that produces water and electricity.
One of the reasons that hydrogen fuel cells tend to be superior to regular lithium-ion batteries is that the former is able to store compressed amounts of hydrogen, giving the vehicle huge potential for long distance driving. On top of that, hydrogen is also incredibly light, meaning that the vehicle simply doesn’t have the same amount of weight to drag around while its in motion.
The Car’s Driving Range
One of the most impressive features of the new XP-1 is its incredible driving range. With all of its hydrogen fuel cells at capacity, the XP-1 is capable of making a trip of up to 1600 kilometres in total.
Even the world’s most efficient hybrid electric cars are not even remotely able to match this distance, where they would need at least a few days or recharge time before getting to the end of the trip. Similarly, fossil fuel cars are similar in terms of their range, perhaps with the only difference being that they can refill their tanks in just a few minutes.
When Will Hydrogen Cars Be Available
Hyperion has a number of prototype cars in operation that may be released to the public in the next few years, but due to the advanced nature of the technology, the limited sources of available hydrogen, and the costs of maintenance, customers can expect to shell out millions, meaning they’d need to win some online betting NZ games first.
These are nothing but test vehicles, however, and as they grow in popularity and more people start to buy them, their overall costs will be lowered until they’re in the same range as electric vehicles.